Plenty of actors are legends in their own time. Some remain Hollywood icons forever. And only a select few, those whose careers transcend eras, reside in Tinsel Town’s Pantheon. But there’s only one Nicolas Cage. The Oscar-winner has done just about everything you can in cinema. Partly because he’s seemingly been in just about every movie ever made. But his singular pop culture status has just as much to do with his off-screen antics as his acting. There’s almost no Nic Cage story we wouldn’t believe. He literally fought aliens on the Moon? Sure, who else would we send? But obviously not every tall tale about him is true. And he finally revealed which of those mythic stories have any merit. Nicolas Cage joined GQ‘s “Actually Me” web series to answer fans online questions.
Despite social media being “antithetical” to his beliefs (smart man!), Nicolas Cage sat down to respond to online inquiries, hypotheticals, and stories about him. Well, so long as he could remain humble. Which is why he refused to even say the name of the Nic Cage subreddit.
But there was still plenty of fascinating fodder for his fans. Including the time he had to give a T. rex skull, one he bought legally, back to the Mongolian government even though he didn’t get his money back. He also talked about the very wise, Academy Award-winning reason he passed on starring in Dumb and Dumber alongside Jim Carrey. And he even said “there might still be a chance” for him to play Superman someday. (Though it might be tough to live up to the experience of being Into the Spider-Verse‘s Spider-Man Noir.)
He also touched on why he’s not playing Joe Exotic, the reason he named his son Kal-El, and the authenticity of his abs in Ghost Rider. (Totally real!) Plus, whether he ever turns down roles. (He totally does!) And why he initially suggested someone else play him in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent.
However, the most telling story is one that is totally true, but not nearly as ridiculous as you might imagine. In an attempt to physically feel the pain of his character in Birdy, Cage really did pull out two teeth without anesthesia. Not because he is a “method lunatic,” though. They had to come out anyway and the timing was perfect. Just like the one-and-only Nicolas Cage.